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China Is Leaving America in the Dust

October 27, 2013John Olen

The United States was once the world leader in virtually every area you can think of. Manufacturing, technology, education and research were some of the things we took pride in as a nation, and we thrived. Now the United States is faltering, falling behind third world countries in many areas we once dominated.

Energy is crucial to the success of any nation in the 21st century, but the United States is falling behind in this area as well. We are stuck with partisan gridlock, debating the merits of archaic fossil fuels or green energy alternatives that are not yet effective enough. Meanwhile, China is blazing ahead with a new form of nuclear energy that could assure their status as a world economic power for years to come.

China has seen tremendous growth in recent years, but with such a massive population, much of which is just coming onto the electrical grid, energy concerns could hamper future growth. Fossil fuels are increasingly and perhaps prohibitively expensive, so China has invested a massive amount of resources in developing alternative energy. They are now a world leader in thorium nuclear plants, which are both safer and cleaner than traditional nuclear plants like Fukushima, which caused a major crisis in Japan in 2011. If successful, these plants could provide the missing puzzle piece for China’s economic success.

The United States once took the advancements of other nations as a challenge to do better. The Soviet Union put a man into space, so we put a man on the moon. If China beats the United States to a new, safe and affordable form of energy production, it would not only be an embarrassment, it could do further damage to our economy. Due to our membership in the WTO, it is easy for companies to move their operations to countries like China. If China had a cheap, reliable source of energy it would make that move all the more enticing.

Our country and our government are failing us on many levels. We are not investing in the right things, and as a result we are playing catch up instead of leading the world. We are allowing our best, most innovative companies to move to other countries or be sold to foreign interests. We are allowing our domestic companies to be put out of business by cheap foreign competition. This is embarrassing. We have done better in the past, and we can do better again with the right leadership.

Our system is failing us because we have no way, due to our two party system, of ridding ourselves of bad leadership . The American people have lost confidence in their ineffective leaders and need more options. We can’t keep voting the same two inept parties into office. If we do not change this system to allow for more political parties and a vote of “no confidence” we will continue to watch America rapidly decline into an unrecognizable state.